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 | SKIN FEELS | NY Premiere |
Crew: | Sound: Sebastian Bunnik -
Production: Daan Bunnik
| Email: | mailukifilms gmail.com |
synopsis In this observational diptych, the narrator, Daan Bunnik depicts the struggles of observing the ageing bodies of his parents. The part about his father examines what it does to a child to see the ageing, naked body of his father and the part about his mother addresses the pain of a child to see his mother struggling with her less valid body. In this project Bunnik expresses the difficulties of not being able to avert the ageing process of his parents and having to adapt to and cope with this new situation.
director In 2012 Daan Bunnik (Netherlands) graduated from the Piet Zwart Institute with his debut film ‘Skin feels' (graded with distinction). In the film he aims, through examining the ageing body of his parents, to break the physical hierarchy of the parents-child relation and therefore to physically and mentally re-connect with my parents. With this film Bunnik won the Audience Award at dokumentART and the film screened at already 12 festivals in the world (a.o. IDFA, Encounters, Uppsala). As a filmmaker he is interested in this re-establishment of family relations. Therefore his current project depicts the disconnected relationship of two adolescent brothers, which is strongly based on his own his relationship with his brother Website Filmography
filmmaker's note My diptych consists of two observational video portraits on the ageing body of my parents.
In the first part of the film I depict the ageing body of my father. I came to this subject when I stayed the night at my parents and saw my father walking out of the bathroom. It was shocking to see how vulnerable his body had become. In daily life I noticed his hair turning gray and his face becoming older, but it changes so gradually that I hardly recognize it as part of the ageing process. Seeing him naked did make me realize that the body of my all-knowing father is turning into one of a vulnerable old man. The emotions invoked in me were so powerful that I had to make a film on this subject that would describe and deal with these emotions.
When I completed this film it felt that the story of my mother was missing, therefore I decided to make a diptych. In the last five years the state of my mother’s body deteriorated. I noticed that I often was frustrated with her, because her mood changed due to her body becoming less valid. Thus the portrait of my mother communicates my perception on her body becoming older. It examines my frustrations when seeing her struggle climbing the stairs and my hopes for her mind not to suffer under her condition.
Together both films form an intimate diptych portrait of the perception of a child on the ageing body of one’s parents.
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